In partnership with the Michigan Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH), Mobile Clinic Operations Managers Kim R. and Niki M. have embarked on an overseas mission to Dominica, a small island in the Carribean.
Partnering with Doctors
Dr. Dan Wrubel, who the Mobile Clinics team has worked with for the last three years at the MI Opening Eyes Program with the Special Olympics, asked VSP for support of a VOSH Mission to Dominica. For the last 16 years, he has led a team of doctors, opticians, and other volunteers to the island to provide exams and much-needed glasses to the needy. They see over 1700 patients each trip.
Support through Giving
VSP helped support the mission with a variety of donations: glasses from Eyes of Hope Program, an un-used desk top computer and printer from the IT division, and $1800 to help fund three students from Ferris State University College of Optometry to volunteer for this outreach.
Helping the Needy
From January 15-21, Kim and Niki will support the mission by acting as Opticians, pulling glasses from a “dispensary” consisting of boxes with frames and lenses organized by the prescription. They’ll pull the frame that best matches the patient’s need and dispense to the patients.
Throughout their work in Dominica, they’ll send in updates to share their experiences, so stay tuned to our @VSPVisionCare tweets!
About Dominica
Dominica is a small island nation in the eastern Caribbean that was a British colony from 1763-1978. Now an independent nation with a parliamentary democracy, the island is home to 72.600 residents, nearly 40% of which live in poverty. The economy is based in agriculture, specifically bananas, but it’s estimated that nearly 12% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) derives from remittances from Dominicans living abroad.